About The Owners
Terry and Becky Potter met in 2017 and hit it off immediately like two best friends who have waited decades to finally get to catch up.
- Love holding hands and public smooches
- Dreaming of our next vacation (France and then back to Italy are our current dreams)
- Laughing at Bella’s antics
- Family dinners
- Talking about work, planning the next day, and our next business goal
- Going out to dinner, plays, and movies
- Love taking classes: painting classes, cooking classes, and even dance lessons – we still stink at it!
- Terry loves to tell “bad jokes” and Becky can’t help herself but laugh <face palm>
We decided to step into the wine business (can this be better said somehow?) because we are too young to retire, we love to entertain, and we have what we believe is a beautiful property in Dundee Hills, we want to be able to share with people. We have recently finished planting our estate vineyard
Which consists of chardonnay and, of course, pinot noir.
Now, here’s the “schpeel” about how some of this came about…
On our third date Terry wanted to play a “game”, unbeknownst to me at the beginning of said game, he was really just cutting to the chase about my likes. It went something like this, “On a scale of 1-10 how to you feel about ___________(fill in the blank)”. One of the more open-ended questions that came up went something like this, “what would you say if I told you I want to build a telescope?” (Terry is a mechanical engineer.) Becky, “good for you champ.” Terry, “No, I really want to build a great big telescope!!”
Becky, “I’m in!” So, on our list of why we decided to start a winery is so there was a reason to build a telescope!
The Telescope...
There are a few observatory telescopes in Oregon, one near by in Carton even, but we believe there is nothing in our area like a winery observatory!
Terry wants to build the telescope from “the ground up.” We have spoken to a local glazier, about the possibility of pouring the glass for the mirror. We are currently entertaining the possibility of actually building 2 telescopes. We are hoping to have a 36” mirror in the large telescope, and a second that is 15 or maybe 24”. Terry is going to start blogging about the process. As with most people who are passionate about their hobbies he loves to talk to other “telescope nerds” about it. The first step at hand is deciding whether to buy the glass for the mirror or to pour it. Then building a small machine to shape it into a parabola.
And, as observing the universe is best done at night we thought it might be fun to put in a BnB to compliment the telescope and winery for people who want to come to observe the wonders of the universe and amazingly good wine without the bother of driving home. We are just in the process of pulling the permits for the BnB, and tasting room now, January 2021. Our dream for the BnB is a 4-plex of elegant rooms that overlook viewpoints on the Meraviglioso grounds that is reminiscent of an Italian Villa style, that is both elegant and cozy.
Becky Potter
Founder
An RN, who misses spending time with nurses, but loves life as an entrepreneur. Working with her husband, learning about wine and life as a vintner all the whilst working with Bella to greet and take care of her guests has become one of life’s great joys!
Terry Potter
Founder
A mechanical engineer who has been building machines of some sort since he was 4 years old! His current hobby-build is the observatory telescope. Terry and Becky both love to travel and always have one dream-vacation in the works.
Chris Baker
Winemaker
A wine master. Chris is a quiet, passionate guy that loves putting 110% into what he does. Chris enjoys everything from ensuring the vines are properly cared for, through making the wine, up to sharing a great bottle of wine with friends.
Bella
Host
A Bernese Mountain Dog, who simply put - loves to entertain. Working as the wine-dog, she does her best, once the initial “barked welcome” is complete, to make everyone feel as loved and welcome as she possibly can. Bella loves to share treats and enjoys chasing deer out of the vineyard.